Beer Car Etching Project

[Ian MacMillan]

Sweet.

I was thinking the same thing. Ian like!

[wazzou]

That looks fantastic Dave.  Really something to be proud of for sure.

[Dave Schneider]

Thanks everyone for the preemptive accolades.  However, all I have really done up to this point is draw a pretty picture and email it to  a guy. I am hopeful that this will turn out well. If it does I have plans to do it with three other doors and will be happy to set people up with the sides/decals if interested.  I am still a bit unsure how the door and lower track will turn out. I hope that I won't need to separate it from the side as I want to build 10-15 of these.

Best wishes, Dave

[Ian MacMillan]

Dont worry...if it turns out crappy we'll just ban your a$$.

[Dave Schneider]

Dont worry...if it turns out crappy we'll just ban your a$$.

Fair enough....did I mention that I won't be able to ship to New England as I don't want to deal with the custom forms? 
Best wishes, Dave

[bbussey]

... I am still a bit unsure how the door and lower track will turn out. I hope that I won't need to separate it from the side as I want to build 10-15 of these.

That is the least of your worries.  You have the embossed (non-etched) area as your guide.  Simply cement styrene strips cut to those dimensions to the sides.  You'll need to do the same with the upper track.  Look at my Erie milk reefer progress photos as an example.  The way you have designed the door, requiring separate brass rods, will be fine.

[tom mann]

Dave,

Assuming these turn out well, set some aside for me!  Thanks.

[Dave Schneider]

This is just too cool. I managed to track down the location of two surviving cars from this series and they can be seen in Bing maps here where they are being used for storage:
http://tinyurl.com/28qpp4b

This is the car seen in this slide from a recent eBay win: http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll290/djs_ank_ak/BeerRailcars/?action=view&current=MILW_10318_2010_sm.jpg

I will be in the Milwaukee area for Trainfest in a couple of weeks and should be able to stop bye to see these cars in person....odd how that would sound to a "normal person".

PPD has completed some test etchings and they are in the mail.

Best wishes, Dave

[tom mann]

I will be in the Milwaukee area for Trainfest in a couple of weeks and should be able to stop bye to see these cars in person....odd how that would sound to a "normal person".

Don't let Jimmy mention this to the studio audience!

[TrainCat2]

I will be in the Milwaukee area for Trainfest in a couple of weeks and should be able to stop bye to see these cars in person....odd how that would sound to a "normal person".

Dave, be sure to stop by my booth at Trainfest and show me the etchings.

[Dave Schneider]

Dave, be sure to stop by my booth at Trainfest and show me the etchings.

Bob,

Will do. I am glad to hear that you will be making the trip. If they arrive in time I will try to get them mounted on the Deluxe core and hopefully painted as well.

Best wishes, Dave

[Dave Schneider]

Quick update on the Beer Car project. First of all I changed the name of the thread slightly to make it more in line with posting updates throughout the project. I still welcome critiques!

I received my test etchings back from PPD yesterday and here is a quick photo. There is a slight curl to the etching so the focus isn't perfect but you get the idea.



Overall I am happy with this. I have identified some minor revisions. 1) My full etch holes for grabs got dropped at some point. 2) The horizontal seam across the top of the vertical panels will be brought down so that it aligns with the top of the door. 3) Need to figure out the ladders. My half etch on the back of the ladder rungs failed (not shown) so I need to figure out a way to have the ladder rungs span the vertical panel lines and rivets. I might add two vertical no etch lines where the ladder attaches to get the needed relief. 4) I need to add a bit of detail to the wheels on the lower door track. 5) The door rods are to be .008" brass rod. This is really thin stuff and it will be interesting to see how this looks. I don't want to make things so fine that they can't be seen or seem out of proportion with other cars.

A couple of questions for the group:
1) What adhesive should I use to laminate this to styrene?
2) How to clean the brass for painting?

Best wishes, Dave

P.S. If you right click on the image and select View Image you get a slightly larger version of the etching (at least that is how it works on my browser).

[wazzou]

1) 3M Double Sided tape.  It's very thin and very strong and comes in multiple widths.
2) Distilled White Vinegar

[Chris333]

Bryan B. says spray glue works good to attach the sides.

[tom mann]

Bryan B. says spray glue works good to attach the sides.

excellent idea.